Chemical Engineering January 2018 - 58

You and Your Job
Career Guidelines for Young Engineers
A senior engineer reflects on his career and shares his experience
and wisdom with the next generation of engineers
Carl Rentschler
Engineering Consultant
W
hile all engineering degrees
are inherently valuable
and flexible when it
comes to career options,
the engineering sphere has never
been more challenging, and this in
turn makes it difficult for many young
engineers to focus their careers and
make the most of the opportunities
that are available. The petrochemical
industry, in particular, is inherently
volatile based on fluctuations in petroleum
and natural gas prices, and
this can lead to sudden changes in
employment opportunities. This can
make it difficult to maintain stable
employment, and plan a reasonable,
stable engineering career trajectory.
This article shares some " lessons
learned " from my 40-plus-year engineering/management
career (first
in the nuclear industry and then in
the chemical and petroleum-refining
industries). My time in refining
eventually encountered an abrupt
downturn that led to a drastic career
adjustment for me. This caused
me to reflect on how I would redo
my career if I could. Some thoughts
shared below can provide a level of
guidance to young engineers.
The situation
When I started my career as a structural
engineer in the nuclear power
industry, work was booming and all
my boss ever asked during my first
few years of employment was how
much overtime I could work. During
those days, countries such as Japan
and South Korea, were considered
developing nations, and we did a
significant work for such international
customers to help them build
their civil and industrial infrastructure.
There also seemed to be an endless
amount of work for domestic utilities
and companies. This boon in work led
many to become complacent about
56
their future career trajectories, and to
become lulled into thinking that this
bullish state would be the norm over
their entire careers.
Technological developments over
the last 40+ years have been mind
boggling, and there seems to be no
sign such innovation will slow down
in the coming years. I recall at the
start of my career that slide rules
were the norm for doing calculations,
and people stared in awe at those
who had a small pocket calculator.
Now the computational capabilities
at our fingertips through the various
technology tools are endless.
It is said that a modern smartphone
has more computing power than the
computers on Apollo 11 that first
took a man to the moon in 1969.
This rapid pace of change has necessitated
constant learning to stay
current with technology tools. The
need for ongoing education - and
a willingness to embrace change -
goes well beyond calculation tools
and extends into the engineering
technologies in every discipline. Constant
learning is a bedrock requirement
of the engineering field, and is a
must going forward.
Competition in the engineering field
has intensified, and it is not uncommon
now for clients to request a fixedprice
quote for engineering services.
This was unheard of at the start of
my career when nearly all engineering
was was done on a time and material
basis. And, we are now not only competing
with other engineering firms
within the U.S., but are also competing
internationally. This level of competition
within the engineering field will
continue, and is likely to intensify.
Job hopping from company to
company (and even industry to industry)
has become the norm as
engineers push to advance their
careers, or as a result of companies
downsizing. At the start of my
career, engineers generally joined
companies with the idea that they
would retire at the same company.
Now lifetime employment at one
company is nearly unheard of, and
engineers starting their careers have
to be prepared for a path that may
wind in many directions.
In the U.S., companies have even
adjusted their retirement programs to
so-called " portable " 401K retirementsavings
plans to facilitate employment
flexibility. There are a lot of good technical
performers who are looking for
work because they were displaced
due to circumstances beyond their
control.
difficult for the engineer to find his or
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Chemical Engineering January 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Chemical Engineering January 2018
